execrable
Definitions
Extremely bad; appalling.
糟透的；极差的。
Deserving to be cursed; utterly detestable.
该被诅咒的；令人深恶痛绝的。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out) + ecr (the worn-down form of sacr, here the 'accursed' side of Latin sacer) + -able = 'fit to be cursed / driven out from the sacred.' Something execrable is so hateful it deserves a curse; in everyday English the heat cooled into plain 'appallingly bad' — execrable weather, execrable taste.
Root sacr still carries 10 more wordsWhy It Means This
Execrable is the same root as sacred, flipped to its dark side. Latin sacer meant both 'holy' and 'accursed' — both untouchable. With ex- ('drive out'), the cursed sense won. Today it is a high-register way to say something is dreadful: execrable acting, an execrable pun.
Common Collocations
- 1.execrable taste糟糕的品味
- 2.execrable weather恶劣的天气
- 3.execrable service糟糕的服务
- 4.execrable conditions恶劣的条件
Example Sentences
- 1.
The food was mediocre and the service execrable.
- 2.
Critics called his latest novel execrable.